"Don't worry. You'll be seeing them soon," Alex whispered. He placed a hand over Thunderbird's face, gently closing his eyes.
Alex might've felt a tinge of regret for this man, but there was never any room for sympathy. Letting Thunderbird go was never an option.
Truthfully, Alex had originally planned to keep him alive, not out of mercy, but as a valuable experimental subject. It wasn't often one came across a wizard with such impressive physical and magical resilience.
But after Thunderbird opened up and laid everything bare, he'd asked Alex for a clean death when it was all over. And Alex, in an unusual moment of sincerity, had agreed.
He intended to keep that promise.
That said, Alex had never promised to leave the body untouched.
So even after the killing blow, he didn't withdraw the sword. Instead, he allowed Voltbrand to slowly draw out the remaining blood from Thunderbird's corpse. He only promised him a swift end, not a proper burial.
"Master, what shall we do next?" Fang, who had been quietly observing, glanced at the long sword still embedded in Thunderbird's chest. Voltbrand was glowing faintly, its surface flickering with a crimson sheen as it absorbed the blood. Fang swallowed nervously before asking, clearly trying to shift focus.
"Once Voltbrand has drained enough blood, we'll dissect the body," Alex said without looking away, eyes fixed on the sword's glow. "You'll be responsible for documenting everything. Understood?"
"Yes, Master!" Fang replied immediately.
But his eyes lingered on Thunderbird's lifeless form, a strange look on his face. Look at you, he thought.
'You asked master to send you on your way, but didn't think to ask him for a proper burial? Now you're about to be carved open like a classroom specimen. So much for dignity, huh?'
With Thunderbird finally dealt with, Alex's business in Egypt had come to an end. He activated the Portkey alongside Barnabas and the others, returning to England.
By then, news of Alex winning the Gold Medal for Pioneering Contributions at the International Alchemy Conference had spread like wildfire throughout Britain's wizarding community. Newspapers, radios, and even gossip columns were buzzing with the story. Naturally, the Wilson's Arcane Alchemica got plenty of exposure as well.
It was practically free advertising.
Alex, of course, understood the real reason behind the Ministry's enthusiasm. This was their way of repaying him. First, he'd earned international acclaim and made the UK look good on a global stage. Then, he helped secure favorable trade agreements that brought tangible benefits back home.
So now, the Ministry of Magic was happy to sing his praises. And as far as Alex was concerned, they were welcome to keep doing so, for their benefit, and his.
After returning to UK, Alex found himself swamped with responsibilities. His top priority was handling the growing number of business orders.
With trade contracts pouring in from several countries, his current production setup simply couldn't keep up. To fix this, he spent over two weeks expanding his underground factory, doubling the number of lathes and running them non-stop.
Fortunately, the Ministry of Magic provided raw materials in a timely manner, metals, furs, wood, and other essentials were delivered regularly to Wilson's Arcane Alchemica. The Ministry even suggested assigning a liaison officer to help manage communication and logistics more efficiently.
Alex didn't hesitate to take them up on the offer and immediately brought in Azalea. After learning that Alex had taken care of the Thunderbird, Azalea toned down her usual arrogance and behaved much more respectfully.
Meanwhile, Minister Bagnold kept her word and officially nominated Alex for the given the significant benefits Alex had brought to the Ministry, on top of his academic achievements, she want to upgrade the nomination to first class. Realistically, considering his global academic reputation and his past contributions in fighting the Death Eaters, either level could have been justified.
In the wizarding world, however, personal connections and mutual interests often carry more weight than in the Muggle world. With Alex's growing network and wealth, his influence within the UK's magical community was becoming increasingly noticeable, but it's still not enough.
His award ceremony turned out to be a major event. Receiving Second Class Order of Merlin at such a young age made headlines across the wizarding world. People couldn't stop talking about it.
On one particular day, Alex appeared in Godric's Hollow, dressed neatly and looking serious.
As he approached the familiar valley monument, he once again came across the statue of the Potter family. He stood in front of it for a moment, his face solemn, before quietly circling the monument and heading toward the nearby church. Today, however, he wasn't here to pay tribute to the Potters.
Passing through the church, Alex made his way to the old cemetery behind it. Guided by a memory, he searched among the gravestones until he stopped in front of one. Etched into the stone was a name that stood out: Gerald Stevens.
This was Thunderbird's tombstone, a marker he gave to Alex to designate the final resting place of all his belongings.
As for why Thunderbird, also known as Gerald, chose to store everything in Godric's Hollow, UK, his reasoning was deeply personal. Godric's Hollow wasn't just the place where Grindelwald and Dumbledore once made their blood pact, it also became the first stronghold of the Saints' Association when it was later founded.
This historic and emotional connection meant a lot to Gerald, and perhaps that's why he chose this location as a symbolic grave for his former self.
When Alex arrived at the tombstone, he first pulled out a jammer and activated it, creating a protective field around him. Then, he took out Thunderbird's wand, tapped the name carved into the stone, and quietly spoke in German, "Alles zum Wohle des Ganzen" as it mean "All for the greater good."
The words, combined with the wand's recognition, acted as a magical key. A low rumble followed, and the ground behind the tombstone shifted, revealing a hidden compartment, a wooden chest over a meter long.
Opening this cache might have seemed simple for Alex, but for anyone else, it would have been impossible. Even if someone had dug through the entire cemetery, they wouldn't have found a thing.
The chest was protected by powerful enchantments, if the wrong wand or incantation was used, the space itself wouldn't respond. In fact, the cache was hidden in a separate subspace, only accessible through the correct magical sequence. Once closed, it would vanish from the physical world entirely.
After confirming he had accessed it correctly, Alex retrieved the wooden box and gently placed Thunderbird's ashes into a smaller container inside it, fulfilling Gerald's final wish. With that done, he sealed the hidden tomb again and turned his attention to the large box he had just uncovered.
Unlike the tomb's entrance, this box didn't have any anti-theft enchantments. A simple touch of his wand was enough to open it.
Inside, the chest was packed tightly with items, each one carrying deep personal meaning for Gerald. These weren't just random possessions; they were pieces of his past, keepsakes that told the story of his life.
Among them was a large collection of letters, including personal correspondence between Gerald and Grindelwald, and letters shared among the original seven members of the Silver Wand. Although Alex didn't yet know which name belonged to which founder, he could tell that each letter held a piece of history and the weight of old friendships.